In a stapler which is built into a printer or a copier or a finisher or the like for binding a plurality of sheets of paper after printed or copied or the like, there is a stapler which cuts a leading end portion of a staple leg penetrated through the sheets by a cutter unit. Thereby, thin sheets through thick sheets are capable of being bound by a stable shape by making a length of the staple leg projected from the sheets constant. The cutter unit is constituted by a fixed cutter and a movable cutter movable relative to the fixed cutter. The leading end portion of the staple leg advancing between the two cutters by penetrating the sheets is cut such that the length of the staple leg portion penetrating from the sheets becomes substantially constant.
According to the stapler which cuts the leading end portion of the staple leg by the cutter unit, by scattering the chip of the staple leg cut by the cutter unit, there is a concern of posing a problem of bringing about an operational failure by being caught in an operating mechanism of a drive gear or a link or the like in the stapler or a printer or a copier or a finisher or the like, or dropping the chip onto a circuit board for control to shortcircuit the circuit to destruct. Therefore, a stapler of JP-Y-03-025931 is provided with a chip processing apparatus for gathering a chip of a staple leg cut by a cutter unit to a predetermined portion. According to the chip processing apparatus of JP-Y-03-025931, a chip discharging portion of the cutter unit is inclinedly arranged with a containing vessel for containing the chip, and the chip of the staple leg cut by the cutter unit is gathered into the containing vessel. An opening portion formed at a lower end of the containing vessel is provided with a lid member normally closing the opening portion. The chip stored in the containing vessel is discharged to outside by opening the lid member as necessary.
In a stapler which is built into a printer or a copier or a finisher or the like and arranged along a path of carrying sheets in the apparatus and binds printed or copied sheets, a number of times of binding staples is large so that the staple leg is cut at each time of binding. Therefore, a large amount of chips are generated. The staple leg chip processing apparatus of JP-Y-03-025931 is formed with the containing vessel at the chip discharging portion of the cutter unit, and therefore, a space of installing the containing vessel having a large volume capable of containing a large amount of cut chips is needed in the printer or the copier or the like including the stapler. Moreover, the chip gathered in the containing vessel is discharged by opening the lid member formed at the lower end portion of the containing vessel. Therefore, there is restriction in installing the containing vessel, and a degree of freedom of designing the printer or the copier or the like or the finisher is restricted.